Carriers are commercially available for purposes of transporting a pair of skis. A very common form is a flexible zippered bag with carrying straps. One ski may be strapped in place in the interior of the bag while the other is free or the pair of skis may be bound together with elastomeric fasteners and placed as a single unit into the bag. Ski poles are generally placed loosely into the bag together with the skis. A compact carrier is also available which clamps a pair of skis bottom-to-bottom, centrally along the skis, and provides a pivoting handles by means of which the skis can be carried.
One problem associated with such carriers is that the skis are contacted with one another or other ski equipment. The edges of skis are often sharpened to enhance control, and bottom surfaces are generally polished to enhance speed. The contacting of the skis with themselves and with other equipment creates a risk of damage to ski edges, surfaces and bindings. If skis are to be transported by aircraft, there is an even greater risk of damage from contact with other items of cargo and more generally from the rough handling which items of cargo tend to receive.
On automobiles, it is common to provide a special roof rack to receive skis. The roof rack comprises a pair of stationary cross-members and mounting assemblies with suction cups and straps that fasten the cross-members to the roof of a vehicle. The two cross-members are often formed with grooves arranged in axially aligned forward and rear pairs that receive skis individually. Upper retaining members are hinged to the cross-members and can be pivoted downwardly onto the skis and then locked to retain the skis. Elastomeric pads have been used to cushion the skis and avoid damage to ski surfaces and edges. Although somewhat protected, the skis remain exposed to debris thrown up by traffic and to the elements. Also, once the vehicle arrives at a desired destination, one may still require some means to transport the skis by hand.
A variety of ski carriers have been proposed in prior patents located in prior art searches for the present invention. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,861,701 to Aring et al, 3,779,568 to Wakabayashi, and 4,358,137 to Gramm propose wheeled carriers in which skis are bound together with bottom surfaces contacted. A number of low-cost holders have also been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,522 to Muller et al, for example, proposes a folding carrier in which skis are laid one on top another, but appears to make no provision for bindings associated with skis. U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,268 to Heil proposes a telescopic carrier which receives skis bound to one another with their bottom surfaces contacted. U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,290 to Luebke proposes a tubular compartment suitable for retention of skis, which comprises a slidable partition for adjusting compartment size, the skis apparently being nested or contacted within the compartment. A number of prior patents propose rigid cases that would offer better overall protection. U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,548 to Nurger proposes a lengthwise extendible case with straps for securing skis in a variety of configurations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,254 to Saahakian proposes a rigid ski case in which skis are in side-by-side relationship with the bottom ski surfaces resting against a common supporting surface. U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,036 to McLeod proposes a rigid container for transporting skis in which skis are bent and maintained in a tensioned state in slots formed in foam masses. None of the prior ski carriers involving a rigid case appears to have receive any commercial acceptance.
One reason that prior rigid ski cases have not been commercially successful is likely that they are unwieldy. They are inherently long because of the nature of the product which must be stored. The size problem is aggravated considerably by the need for large cross-sectional dimensions to accommodate the bent forward portions of the skis and the presence of bindings. Given the necessary length of such a case, even small increases in cross-sectional dimensions can result in very substantial increases in overall volume. The size problem is further aggravated if ski poles are to be retained, particularly in view of the relatively large diameter of the baskets that are commonly associated with such poles.